The new Betfred Super League season will see a host of genuine star names arrive in the competition - and none bigger than Sonny Bill Williams.
I only played against him once, when he started for the Kiwis as a youngster, and even then you could see what a handful and talent he was going to be.
But what gives me so much respect for Sonny Bill is that while he’s a naturally gifted athlete, throughout his career he’s got the best out of himself by being the ultimate professional.
In any sport, it’s rare that you get a supreme natural talent that works to his absolute maximum to get the best out of his ability.
But Sonny Bill is a mixture of those two things, and he’s a wonderful player to watch.
He will be worth 6-12 points to Toronto each game not just because of his own ability, but because he will demand better performances from everybody around him.
His signing is a great boost to the competition, and well done to Toronto for having the foresight and financial acumen to go out and make it happen.
But he’s not the only high profile arrival in Super League this year.
There’s James Maloney at Catalans, Gareth Widdop for Warrington, George Burgess at Wigan and Aidan Sezer with Huddersfield.
This week we also saw the Dragons make the controversial signing of Israel Folau, and personally I wouldn’t want somebody with his public views in our competition.
But there are much more positives to focus on in what should be a pivotal and exciting season for the competition.
There looks to be more teams capable of challenging for the top five than ever before and I’m excited to watch it all unfold.
- *** Betfred - Passionate About Rugby League ***
